A good 4.1 percent of all bicycle thefts are solved in Berlin. Makes just under 400 wheels at 9642 in 2021 and – to be honest – little to no hope for those affected. The following story is all the crazier. The story of two bikes that were stolen in the hallway – and found again less than 24 hours later. An ode in seven acts. to the Internet. And to Berlin.
1) PANIC is the first feeling that makes your heart beat faster when you realize that the two bikes you chained in the hallway the night before are no longer there.
Actually, they are always upstairs in the apartment. Exactly for this reason. But it had rained (finally again!) and you wanted to get rid of your wet bikes and wet clothes quickly. That’s why it “actually” doesn’t really matter now: the wheels are gone.
2) When the bikes are gone, you place an ad. You know the non-success chances. But you also have no idea what else to do, so you do this first.
After that, all neighbors are questioned and social media posts are made. On Twitter, on Instagram, even on Tiktok. Maybe a lot helps a lot.
3) COINCIDENCE is when another post pops up in a Facebook group at about the same time that your posts are being shared: A passer-by photographed two bikes in Tempelhof because the dents in the frame struck him as suspicious. The coincidence is only greater if the people who see the post on Facebook are the same people who saw your post on Twitter.
4) HELPFUL is shown by these people now attempting to contact you in any way that you know, two hours after the post was made on Facebook.
5) The journey to Tempelhof takes 20 minutes. That’s 20 minutes in which the Berlin police can’t send anyone out (“They first have to check on site whether the bikes are still there”) and in which you have no idea whether the bikes might not be gone again .
6) In front of the flower shop you realize: THEY ARE STILL THERE! And then there’s Nico, who saw the Facebook post, was walking nearby (to buy some Harry Potter pajamas for his girlfriend) and was kind enough to sit by and wait for the police to come.
7) “Crazy story,” she sums up – and gets the bolt cutters. Sometimes Berlin is still “different”. In the very best sense.
